Sealed package and closure cap therefor



Nov. 27, 1928. 1,693,250

L. P. PIAZZOLI, .JR

SEALED PACKAGE AND CLOSURE CAP THEREFOR Filed July 15, 1926 u I r 1/63;I 31 20 ,9 |I\lllmllllllllllllllmiflllllllillllllllllillllllm Vmillliillllllllllllmllllllllllllllllllllm 22 35 INVENTOR.

Lou/3 PP/bZZo/g, (fr.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 27, 1928.

1,693,250 PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS P. PIAZZOLI, JR., F CONNELL SVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TOCAPS'I'AN GLASS COMPANY, OF CON N ELLSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATIONOF DELA- WARE.

' SEALED PACKAGE AND CLOSURE CA]? THEREFOR.

Application filed July 15,

The present invention relates to vacuum sealed packages and closure capstherefor, and more particularly to moldable closure caps adapted to formwith a suitable container a sealed package in which the vacuum maybereadily broken to facilitate removal of the cap.

The advantages of packing food products in packages sealed under apartial Vacuum are well recognized and a large portion of the productspreserved commercially are sealed in this manner. Power operatedautomatic sealing machines have been devised for commercial use withsuch packages and various inexpensive vacuum sealing devices have beenmanufactured to enable housewives and others to exhaust the air fromcontainers prior to sealing. A very convenient package is afforded by acontainer having a suitable ledge on the inner wall of its mouth to seata gasket upon which a closure cap. may be mounted. The closure cap maycomprise a cover portion with a downwardly deppnding, annular shoulderabout which a gas et may be stretched and seated thereon. The peripheryof the cover extending laterally over the top of the gasket furnishes aseat for the upper side of the gasket and substantially encloses it. Theflange formed about the periphery aids in centering and seating thecaps, the depending shoulder of which is adapted to be telescoped intothe mouth of the container with a gasket between the shoulder and theinner wall of the container. Closures and containers of this generalcharacter form packages which may be entirely glass except for the smallsealing gasket. Hence'they are very neat in appearance and displayattractively the contents thereof and may be reused indefinitely. Theyhave the additional advantage of sealing themselves after beingsubjected to a vacuum. The cover acts as a valve permitting exhaustionof air and preventing the entrance of air into the container whenatmospheric pressure is restored thereabout. Thus the cap is firmly heldin posi tion and sealed by atmospheric pressure without the aid ofattachments for securing the parts in position.

While the seal formed by atmospheric pressure acting upon the cap isvery effective, it is likewise very difiicult to break. Attempts to pryoff the cap are likely to result in breakage and damage to both packageand 1926. Serial No 122,517.

contents. The usual method is to break the vacuum in the container byinserting an instrument under the gasket or else breaking the seal insome other manner. It is desirable of course, to do as little damage tothe gasket as possible so that it may be used again for sealingpurposes. The lateral flange formed about the periphery of the cap tohold the gasket in place prevents the application of an instrument tothe gasket to break the seal and necessitates the provision of somemeans to facilitate breaking the vacuum. The means now commonly used isthe formation of three notches 120 degrees apart about the periphery ofthe cap. These notches are out completely through the flange so that apin or other instrument may be pressed downwardlyalong the shoulder ofthe cap to break the seal thereof. In opera tion it is difiicult toforce the pin back of the gasket because of its tendency to engage thegasket in which case it is difficult to form a leak sufiicient to breakthe vacuum because immediately upon removal of the pin the rubberexpands to close the opening; whereas if the pin follows the shoulder onthe cap along the side of the gasket it may be used as a small lever topress the gasket away from the shoulder and form a leak. Anotherobjection is that in manufacture, such notches are extremely difficultto form because they necessitate a mold having sharp projectionsextending into the periphery of the cap and upon the slightest wear finsare formed between the edges thereof and the co-operating mold, whichmake the cap dangerous to handle and render a new mold necessary. Thefrequent replacement of molds increases materially the cost ofmanufacture. In addition the apertures form dust traps and give a brokenappearance to the periphery of the cap rendering the package unsightly.While only a single notch is necessary for the insertion of aninstrument, in manufacture three notches are formed for appearance andto facilitate the application of a vacuum pump in removing the air fromthe container.

The present invention overcomes these difficulties by providing aclosure cap having a continuous outer periphery extending laterallybeyond a downwardly depending shoulder. The lower edge of the peripheryis recessed at one point to provide a wedge-shaped passageway leading tothe edge of the shoulder so that a pin or other instrument inserted inthis passageway is guided back of the gasket along the shoulder into thecontainer and may be readily moved as a lever to press the gasket awayfrom the shoulder to form a leak by wear do not materially affectformation of the recess.

An object of the invention is to facilitate the manufacture of moldableclosure caps for use in vacuum sealing.

Another object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive closure capadapted effectively to seal a container and furnish a passageway foraccess to the sealing gasket for the purpose of breaking the vacuum andfacilitating removal of the closure cap.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a passageway in afrangible closure cap leading to the sealing gasket by forming adepression in the lower portion of its outer periphery in the form of awedgeshaped recess whereby wear on the mold is minimized and fins ofglass at the edges of the passageway are eliminated.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon anunderstanding of the illustrated embodiment aboutto be described, orwill be obvious from the accompan ing drawings or indicated in theappended c aims, and various advantages secured by the invention otherthan those herein specifically referred to, will occur to one skilled inthe art upon employment of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes ofillustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings,wherein Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a container and closure with avacuum pump applied thereto for the sealing operation;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view showing the closure in sealed.position on the container;

Fig. 3 is a detailed sectional view showing a pin inserted in the recessto break the vacuum;

gig. 4 is a top plan view of the closure cap; an

Fig. 5 is a detailed view of the recess in the closure cap.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a container 1, in the form ofa glass jar having its upper portion reduced in size to form an outershoulder adjacent the mouth 2 thereof. The inner side wall 4 of themouth of the receptacle has an annular shelf-like ledge 5 inclinedslightly to the side wall of the container and meeting arverticalportion (5 forming an annular shoulder against which a gasket 7 may beseated. A closure cap 9 having a cover portion 10 with a dependingshoulder 11 adjacent the periphery thereof adapted to retain the gasket7 when it is stretched thereabout is adapted to be telescoped into themouth of the container with the gasket resting against the shoulder 5.The outer periphery 12 of the cover extends laterally over the gasketand holds it firmly in position and at the same time substantiallyencloses and protects it.

While any method or apparatus for sealing may be utilized to effect thenecessary vacuum in the container a convenient, inexpensive pump isshown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. This pump may comprise a bell-shapedmetallic portion 14 having a downwardly extending peripheral flange 15adapted to fit about the mouth of the container. An annular piece offlexible material such as rubber may be secured to the side of theflange by a wire 16 and held in position thereby. The lower free portionof the rubber may be bent upwardly upon itself to facilitate centeringthe bell-shaped member over the mouth of the container and permitted todrop around the container prior to the utilization of the pump. Theinner side wall of the bell-shaped member may have suitable lugs orattachments 17 adapted to engage the rim of the container to prevent thebell-shaped member from resting against the cap. The size of the lugsmay be such that in addition to supporting, they will facilitatecentering the bell-shaped member on the container. Any suitable vacuumpump 18 may be attached to the upper part of the bell-shaped member 14for producing a vacuum about the mouth of the container. The closurebeing free to move vertically, acts as a valve to permit egress of airduring the exhausting operation, an preventing ingress thereof when thebellshaped member is removed. The unbalanced atmospheric pressure wedgesthe gasket 7 between the ledge 5 on the container and shoulder 11 on thecap to form a very effective seal.

After the cover has been sealed on the container it is diflicult toremove it without breaking the vacuum, since with a container having amouth three inches in diameter a pressure of 30 pounds thereon due tothe vacuum inside is not exceptional. The present cap is provided with adepression 20 at a point on the lower side of the periphery of the coverhaving a wide mouth21 of substantial cross-section which leads to theouter eriphery of the annular shoulder 11. The inner wall of the recessis substantially straight and is at a slight angle to the peripheralwall permit the lugs 'bef the width of the passageway so that when a pinor instrument is inserted in the recess it is guided back of the gasketalong the shoulder into the container and may be pressed from one sideto the other until a leak is formed which will readily break the vacuum.

Since the recess 20 is upon the lower side I of the cap and since itdoes not extend through the cover portion thereof, the portion of themold forming the recess operates independently of the mold forming thetop of the cover and the meeting of a plurality of mold surfaces at thispoint is avoided,

' hence no fins or other irregularities are formed. Further, wear on theirregular portion of the mold forming the depression is reduced to aminimum and irregularities in the depression occasioned by wear do notmaterially affect the finished article. There is no reason for providingmore than one recess, since it is substantially concealed and does notmar the appearance of the package. The lateral flange extending aboutthe periphery of the cover may be sufficiently narrow to 17 on thebell-shaped member 14 to engage the rim of the container for sustainingthe pressure occasioned by the formation of a vacuum therein.

It will be seen that a very inexpensive closure cap has been providedwhich permits the vacuum in a container to be readily. broken. Thedepressiom or recess on the lower side of the periphery of the covermaormed by a projection on a single mold: whereby the formation of finsand other disadvantages are eliminated. The recess itself is such as tominimize the wear on the mold and it is also such that wear on the moldhas a minimum effect on its formation.

As various changes may be made in the above embodiment, the descriptionherein is to be taken as illustrative and not in a limiting sense as thecope of the invention is defined in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A sealed package, comprising a container, a glass closure cap havinga laterally extending peripheral flange, and an annular shoulder beneathsaid flange adapted to seat a gasket, said flange having a continuousperiphery with a recess on its under side to form a guideway leading tothe inner edge of the gasket at an angle to the shoulder, whereby aninstrument will be guided to the inner edge of the gasket between saidshoulder and said gasket to break the vacuum in said container.

2. A sealed package, comprising a container, a. closure cap formed frommoldable material having a continuous laterally extending peripheralflange, and means for seating a gasket under said flange, the lowerperipheral edge of said flange having a de- Y side of pressed portion tofacilitate insertion of an instrument to break the vacuum in thecontainer.

3. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap adapted to be seated upona gasket to seal a. container having a partial vacuum therein, the lowersurface of said closure iaving a recess extending partially through theflange from the periphery inward to permit the insertion of aninstrument to break the vacuum in the container.

4. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap formed from moldablematerial having a continuous laterally extending peripheral flange, anda shoulder on the under side of said cap adapted to seat a gasket theunder side of said flange having a recess extending from the peripherythereof over said gasket to said shoulder.

5. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap comprising a coverportion having a continuous outer periphery with a recess extendingthrough the lower surface only thereof to form a guideway for aninstrument.

6. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap comprising a coverportion having a wedge-shaped recess in the lower side of its outerperiphery.

s an article of manufacture, a closure cap having a shoulder on itslower side adapted to seat a gasket, and having a recess extending oversaid gasket at an angle thereto and leading to said shoulder, saidrecess having a relatively wide passage at one end thereof to facilitatethe entry of an instrument, said passage decreasing in cross-section toguide said instrument between said shoulder and said gasket.

8. As an article of manufacture, a glass closure cap comprising a coverportion having a continuous periphery at the upper edge of the cap, withthe periphery at the lower edge recessed to form a guideway, wherebysaid recess is formed entirely by a single mold.

9. A sealed package comprising a container, a closure cap having ashoulder adapted to be teleseoped into the mouth of the container with alateral flange extending over the side wall of the container and asealing gasket between the shoulder of the'cap and the inner side wallof said container, said closure having a continuous periphery atits'upper edge with the periphery at the lower edge recessed to form aguideway leading to the inner side of the gasket to facilitate breakingthe vacuum by means of a pointed instrument.

10. A sealed package, "comprising a container element and a closureelement, one of said elements having a cylindrical surface and anadjoining shoulder, a gasket on said cylindrical surface seated againstsaid shoulder, and a wedge shaped depression in the said shoulderadjacent said gasket leading to said cylindrical surface at the inneredge of said gasket.

11. A sea-led package colnprislng a closure tion on said cylindricalsurface, said shoulder having a continuous periphery With the side ofthe shoulder adjacent the gasket recessed to form a guideway wherebysaid re- 10 cess may be formed entirely by a single mold.

12. A sealed package comprising a closure element, a container element,one of said elements having a cylindrical surface adapted to receive agasket, and an abutment for said gasket to hold it in position on saidcylindrical surface, said abutment having a wedge shaped recess leadingfrom the outer periphery of said abutment and tapering towardvsaidcylindrical surface.

LOUIS P. PIAZZOLI. JR.

